Fleet vehicle feature activation

ABSTRACT

A system including a processor and memory may provide for automatically activating or deactivating a feature of a fleet vehicle. For example, one or more fleet vehicles may include one or more of a global-positioning system, a speed governor, electronically-controlled brakes, an electronically-controlled accelerator, a speed limiter, or an on-board computer with a processor and memory. One or more features may be activated by a local or remote computing device or system. For example, a system may determine one or more recommended routes between two or more locations. The system may track a fleet vehicle&#39;s progress along a route, and activate a feature of the fleet vehicle based on the fleet vehicle following or not following the recommended route. For example, the system may cause activation of a speed limiter on the fleet vehicle, disable the fleet vehicle, and/or activate or deactivate autonomous features of the fleet vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Drivers today have many choices for various routes from a location to adestination. Systems exist for assisting drivers in determining how toget from one place to another. For example, some devices provideturn-by-turn directions to drivers, and other devices alert driversabout points of interest along a travel path. Nevertheless, thereremains a need for improved technological systems for guiding drivers toa destination.

SUMMARY

The following summary is for illustrative purposes only, and is notintended to limit or constrain the detailed description.

Aspects of the disclosure provide effective, efficient, and convenienttechnical solutions that address and overcome the technical problemsassociated with activating or deactivating a feature of a fleet vehicle.Specifically, aspects of the disclosure relate to devices fordetermining, based on one or more factors, whether a fleet vehicle isfollowing a recommended route between two or more locations. Based onwhether the vehicle is following or not following the recommended route,a system or device may cause one or more features of the vehicle to beactivated or deactivated. For example, a fleet management system thatincludes a processor and memory may receive location information from aglobal positioning system in the fleet vehicle. Based on the locationinformation of the fleet vehicle, the fleet management system may causeactivation or deactivation of a feature of the fleet vehicle based onwhether the fleet vehicle is following or not following the recommendedroute. The feature of the fleet vehicle that is activated or deactivatedmay be an autonomous or semi-autonomous function of the vehicle. Thefeature may, for example, be one or more of a speed limiter, a brake, anaccelerator, and/or a radio. In some aspects, the fleet vehicle may beturned or caused to follow a particular route (e.g., a self-drivingfunction may be activated that returns the vehicle to the recommendedroute). In some embodiments, the fleet vehicle may be disabled.

The system may further determine a recommended route based on one ormore factors. The system may use a weighting of one or more factors todetermine the recommended route.

Furthermore, one or more factors specific to a fleet vehicle may be usedin determining a recommended route. For example, a fleet of vehicles mayinclude more than one vehicle (e.g., two, twenty, two hundred, twothousand, etc.). A particular factor in a recommended route might notmatter to an individual (e.g., saving three minutes or saving insurancecost in a pay-as-you-drive model on a trip by choosing one route overanother), but when aggregated over a fleet of multiple vehiclescollectively making many trips each day, week, month, or year, smalldifferences in efficiency (e.g., maximizing efficiency), or consideringother factors in recommending routes, may add up to a large differencein time saved, money made, money saved, or other benefits to a fleetowner. Thus, the system may consider one or more factors associated witha fleet vehicle (e.g., risk of a route for a particular fleet vehicletype on a particular route segment based on historical or real-timedata) in order to determine a recommended route.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a system, computer-readablemedia, device, and/or apparatus may be configured to perform a methodthat includes determining, by a computing device including a processorand memory, a driving route of the fleet vehicle from a startinglocation to a destination location, receiving, by the computing device,from a global positioning system device in the fleet vehicle, routeinformation of the fleet vehicle indicating that the fleet vehicle is nolonger at the starting location and is along the driving route,determining, by the computing device, that a feature of the fleetvehicle is deactivated, and after receiving the route information of thefleet vehicle and determining that the feature of the fleet vehicle isdeactivated, causing, by the computing device, activation of the featureof the fleet vehicle.

The summary here is not an exhaustive listing of the novel featuresdescribed herein, and is not limiting of the claims. These and otherfeatures are described in greater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, claims, and drawings. The present disclosure is illustratedby way of example, and not limited by, the accompanying drawings inwhich like numerals indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of an environment in which a featureof a vehicle may be activated or deactivated according to at least oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of a system that may be used indetermining whether to activate or deactivate a vehicle featureaccording to at least one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative flow diagram according to at least oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative block diagram of one or more factors that maybe used for determining whether to activate or deactivate a vehiclefeature according to at least one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative block diagram of one or more factors that maybe used for determining a recommended route according to at least oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative flow diagram according to at least oneembodiment described herein.

FIGS. 7A-7H are illustrative diagrams of graphical user interfacesaccording to at least one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram of an environment in which routes forfleet vehicles may be determined according to at least one embodimentdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various illustrative embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structuraland functional modifications may be made, without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative block diagram of a computing environmentin accordance with some features described herein. It is noted thatvarious connections between elements are discussed in the followingdescription. It is noted that these connections are general and, unlessspecified otherwise, may be direct or indirect, wired or wireless, andthat the specification is not intended to be limiting in this respect.

A computing environment (e.g., computing environment 100) may include avehicle (e.g., vehicle 102), a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 104),and/or a server (e.g., server 106). Vehicle 102 may include a computingdevice.

In one or more arrangements, one or more of a computing device includedin vehicle 102, mobile device 104, and server 106 may be any type ofcomputing device capable of receiving, generating, and/or displaying auser interface, receiving input via the user interface, andcommunicating the received input to one or more other computing devices.For example, a computing device included in vehicle 102, mobile device104, and/or server 106 may, in some instances, be and/or include servercomputers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones, personal digital assistants, pagers, or the like. Any and/or allof a computing device included in vehicle 102, mobile device 104, and/orserver 106 may, in some instances, be or include special-purposecomputing devices configured to perform specific functions.

Computing environment 100 also may include one or more networks, whichmay interconnect one or more of vehicle 102, mobile device 104, andserver 106. For example, computing environment 100 may include network108, as depicted in FIG. 1. Network 108 may include one or moresub-networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks(WANs), or the like). Network 108 may be associated with a particularorganization (e.g., a corporation, educational institution, governmentalinstitution, or the like) and may interconnect one or more computingdevices associated with the organization. Network 108 may be a homenetwork, a corporate network, an ad-hoc network, a ring network, acellular network, or another type of network. Network 108 may be theInternet.

FIG. 2 illustrates computing device 200, which may be similar to mobiledevice 104, server 106, and/or a computing device in vehicle 102.Computing device 200 may include one or more processor(s) 202, memory(s)204, storage(s) 206, display interface(s) 208, input interface(s) 210,and communication interface(s) 212. A data bus (e.g., data bus 214) mayinterconnect processor(s) 202, memory(s) 204, storage(s) 206, displayinterface(s) 208, input interface(s) 210, and communication interface(s)212. Communication interface(s) 212 may be a network interfaceconfigured to support communication between computing device 200 and oneor more devices and/or networks. Communication with other devices viacommunication interface(s) 212 may be direct (e.g., using BLUETOOTH,near-field communication (NFC), WIFI, AIRDROP, or the like) or indirect(e.g., via one or more other devices).

Memory(s) 204 and/or storage(s) 206 may include a hard drive, solidstate drive, flash memory, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), removable storage, NFC tag, or the like. Memory(s) 204 mayinclude one or more program modules having instructions that, whenexecuted by processor(s) 202, cause computing device 200 to perform oneor more functions described herein and/or one or more databases that maystore and/or otherwise maintain information that may be used by suchprogram modules and/or processor(s) 202. In some instances, the one ormore program modules may be stored by and/or maintained in differentmemory units of computing device 200 and/or by different devices thatmay form and/or that are connected to or in communication with computingdevice 200. For example, the instructions may include instructions thatcause computing device 200 to execute a computer-executable applicationthat receives, processes, and stores data received from one or morecomputing devices.

Display interface(s) 208 may include a display output port (e.g., analogvideo, digital video, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort), and/or a connection to aninternal or external display. Input interface(s) 210 may include one ormore ports for receiving input via a keyboard, mouse, stylus, touchpad,touchscreen, or other input device. Input interface(s) 210 may beintegrated with or otherwise correspond with display interface(s) 208(e.g., such as in a touch, multi-touch, or similar environment).

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a method of determiningwhether to activate or deactivate a vehicle feature for one or morevehicles. The vehicles described in connection with this application maybe fleet vehicles, or may be non-fleet vehicles.

In step 302, a system may receive a start location. The start locationmay include a global positioning system (GPS) location,latitude/longitude, geographic coordinates, an address, or the like. Thestart location may be determined using a GPS device, a computing device,a mobile phone, a vehicle navigation system, a device with a geographicinformation system (GIS), or the like. The start location may be alocation of a vehicle, a person, a computing device, a building, anaddress, a point on a map, or the like.

In step 304, a system may receive an end location. For example, the endlocation may include a destination that a user may wish to go to. Forexample, if a user is at the start location, and wishes to drive to aparticular destination, the user may enter the destination (e.g., endlocation) into a computing device, mobile phone, GPS device, vehiclenavigation system, or the like. The system may automatically determinethe end location, based on a series of destinations to be visited, aseries of tasks to be performed, or the like. For example, if a driveris to pick up or deliver items at a number of locations on the way tothe destination location, a start location may be a current location ofthe driver, and the end location may be the next location to which thedriver is to go. The system may receive the start and/or end locationfrom a system that determines a route for the driver to follow.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine the start and/orend location.

In step 306, the system may determine a route from the start location tothe end location. In step 308, the system may determine a number ofsegments along the route from the start location to the end location.

In step 310, the system may determine a risk of each segment along theroute. The system may determine risk based on one or more factors. Therisk may be represented using, for example, a risk score, a dollaramount, or another numeric representation. Alternatively oradditionally, the risk may be represented graphically, visually, or thelike.

The risk may be determined based on one or more factors. For example,FIG. 4 depicts a number of factors, one or more of which may be used fordetermining the risk (e.g., risk 402). The system may use one or more ofthe factors in FIG. 4. The factors depicted in FIG. 4 are merelyillustrative, and the system may use factors different than or inaddition to those depicted.

In some embodiments, risk may be determined based on a weighted score.The system may use one or more system preferences, fleet preferences,owner preferences, driver preferences, or the like to determine weightsto apply to different factors when determining risk. The system mayapply weights based on mathematical or actuarial determinations of riskand the factors that might contribute to risk in different situations.Thus, the system may apply different weights depending on differentfactors. The weight for each factor may be selected based on whichfactors are included in the risk calculation.

For example, a risk factor may include intersections 404. For example,the risk may be based on a number of intersections, risk of one or moreof the intersections along the route (e.g., a more or less riskyintersection), and the like.

A risk factor may include turns 406. For example, the risk may be basedon a number of turns, whether the turns are right or left turns, thenumber of lanes turning, and the like.

A risk factor may include accidents 408. For example, accidents mayinclude a number of accidents along a segment, a frequency of accidentsalong a segment, or the like. The accidents risk may take into accountadditional variables. For example, if red vehicles get into accidents onthe segment at a different rate than black vehicles, then thecontribution of accidents 408 to risk 204 may be different for a redvehicle than for a black vehicle.

A risk factor may include weather 410. The weather could be currentweather, past weather, and/or future weather. The risk could be based ona predicted weather for a predicted time that the vehicle will be on aparticular segment. For example, given a particular starting location, apredicted travel time (e.g., based on current traffic conditions, speedlimits, vehicle capability, required stops, etc.), a time could bedetermined at which the vehicle is predicted to be at a particularsegment. The weather prediction for the time that the vehicle is at theparticular segment may be used for determining the risk. Alternatively(e.g., if a predicted time is not available), historical weatherinformation may be used for predicting the weather. For example, if aparticular road segment (e.g., in the mountains) is often snowy inDecember, and the month of the determining risk is December, aprediction may be made that the trip might happen in December, andtherefore a risk may be determined based at least in part on aprediction that the road segment in the mountains might be snowy, basedon historical weather information.

A risk factor may include cargo type 412. A cargo type being transportedin the vehicle may impact risk. Different types of risk may exist basedon the types of cargo. For example, risks may exist to the driver, topassengers, to the vehicle itself, to the road, to other drivers orvehicles, to the environment, or the like. For example, a school busmight have different amounts or types of risk than a truck transportinglumber, which might have different amounts or types of risk than a trucktransporting cash, which might have different amounts or types of riskthan an ambulance transporting a patient. Characteristics of differentsegments of road along a particular route may contribute to risk of aparticular cargo type.

The system may be pre-programmed with factors that are relevant to typesof risk relevant to cargo transported within the fleet. For example, afleet of vehicles meant for delivering packages may, in determining riskbased on cargo type 412, take into account factors that could contributerisk to the types of cargo being carried in the vehicles (e.g.,packages). A different fleet of vehicles (e.g., school buses), may takeinto account different factors that result in different riskcalculations based on what is being transported in the vehicles (e.g.,school children). For example, a package delivery truck route mightprioritize efficiency and speed in stopping at different homes orbusinesses to deliver packages, and therefore calculate risk based onfactors related to those priorities (e.g., risk of late delivery). Aschool bus route might similarly prioritize speed and efficiency inpicking up or dropping off school children, but might also prioritizeavoiding busy or wide roads, to increase safety for children crossingthe road before getting on or after getting off the bus.

A risk factor may include vehicle type 414. Similarly to what wasdiscussed above, the type of vehicle may also be a factor in determiningrisk, and may impact the amount of risk that is determined. For example,an armored truck might have less risk than a papier-mâché parade float(e.g., because the armored car may be more resistant to damage than theparade float). The value of the vehicle may also impact the risk basedon the vehicle type. For example, an expensive car may be more riskythan a cheap car, based on the value of the vehicle. The capabilities ofthe vehicle may also impact the risk based on the vehicle type. Forexample, a fast sports car may be more risky than a sedan.

A risk factor may include traffic 416. For example, traffic may includeinformation regarding current traffic, predicted traffic, historicaltraffic patterns, and the like. For example, if traffic on a typicalroute is often heavy, then there might be more risk associated with thatroute than a route where there is typically not a lot of traffic.

A risk factor may include autonomous capability 418. For example, someautonomous capabilities (e.g., self-driving, self-braking, self-speedcontrol, automatic lane control, and the like) may require that a roadsegments include certain technology (e.g., sensors, cameras, lights,transmitters, paint with particular characteristics, or the like) inorder for the autonomous capabilities to be available. Alternatively oradditionally, autonomous features might only be available on aparticular route—or might be prescribed or proscribed on a particularroute—based on legislative or other legal requirements. The system maydetermine that driving on a particular route or segment is more or lessrisky, based on the availability of or requirement for one or moreautonomous features on that route or segment.

A risk factor may include time of day 420. For example, driving atcertain times of the day may be more risky than driving at differenttimes of the day. For example, trips may be more risky on a particularroute based on increased traffic, an increased number of historicalaccidents at a time of the day, increased driver fatigue (e.g., drivingat night versus driving during the day), and the like. Time of day maybe considered in combination with other factors (e.g., traffic, weather,etc.). The system may provide an estimated risk for different times ofthe day (e.g., now, in one hour, etc.), and/or may provide a time thatthe risk would be lowest (e.g., to minimize risk, begin the trip at 3:00PM (whatever time is the lowest risk)).

A risk factor may include travel time 422. For example, the risk of atrip might increase or decrease depending on the projected length oftime to complete the trip. In some embodiments, if the length of thetrip is above a threshold, the risk may increase or decrease by aparticular amount (e.g., trips over 24 hours might be more risky thantrips less than 24 hours). In some embodiments, if the length of thetrip is below a threshold, the risk may increase or decrease by aparticular amount. In some embodiments, the risk increase proportionallywith the length of the trip.

A risk factor may include driver drive time 424. For example, if aparticular driver has been driving for a number of hours recently (e.g.,six hours of the last 24 hours), there may be a higher risk than if thedriver has not been driving as much. Furthermore, some jurisdictions maylimit the number of hours that a driver (e.g., taxi driver, truckdriver, etc.) may drive in a period of time (e.g., 24 hours). Someroutes may involve more or less drive time than others, may have more orfewer rest areas on the route, and/or may involve more or less riskbased on the amount of driver recent drive time. The system maytherefore consider the amount of driver drive time 424 in determiningrisk (e.g., risk 402).

A risk factor may include driver profile 426. For example, some driversmay be more risky than other drivers. Some drivers may be more risky atcertain times, and less risky at other times (e.g., if a driver has amore difficult time seeing at night, but is otherwise a more defensivedriver, that driver might have a more risky nighttime driving profile,but a less risky daytime driving profile). A driver may have a driverscore (e.g., a safety score).

As noted earlier, one or more factors may be used in determining risk(e.g., risk 402). One of skill in the art will recognize additional riskfactors that may be used, and relevant considerations that may beapplicable in using those factors for determining risk.

For example, a risk factor may include vehicle health. Vehicle healthmay be determined, for example, based on an on-board diagnostics system.The on-board diagnostics system may determine one or more functions ofthe vehicle, conditions of parts of the vehicle, or the like. Based onthe determinations of the on-board diagnostics system, a vehicle healthscore may be determined. For example, the on-board diagnostics systemmay transmit diagnostic information to a computing device remote fromthe vehicle (e.g., mobile device 104, server 106). The computing deviceremote from the vehicle may determine the vehicle health score.Alternatively or additionally, the on-board diagnostics system mayanalyze the diagnostic information of the vehicle, and determine thevehicle health score. The on-board diagnostics system may transmit thevehicle health score to a computing device remote from the vehicle(e.g., mobile device 104, server 106).

Returning to FIG. 3, in step 312, the system may determine a total riskof the route. The system may determine the total risk of the route in arisk optimization equation. The system may determine a total risk of theroute based on the risk of one or more segments along the route. In someembodiments, there may only be one segment, which may result in the riskof the segment being the same as the total risk of the route.Alternatively, in some embodiments, there may be multiple segments in aroute. The total risk of the route may be the sum of the differentsegments of the route, or the total risk of the route may be more orless than the sum of the different segments of the route. For example,two segments may have individual risks of a particular amount, but whenthose two segments are taken together in the same trip, the total riskmay be more or less than the sum of the risk of the two segmentsindividually.

In step 314, the system may take one or more actions based on the totalrisk of the route. For example, the system may activate a vehiclefeature, deactivate a vehicle feature, send an alert, provide anincentive, provide a notification, or the like.

As noted, in some embodiments, the system may activate and/or deactivatea vehicle feature based on one or more factors other than risk. Forexample, the system may activate and/or deactivate the vehicle featurebased on whether the vehicle is following or not following therecommended route. The system may cause the activation and/ordeactivation of the vehicle feature by transmitting, via a network(e.g., a cellular network), to a computing device on or in the vehicle,an instruction or command to activate or deactivate the feature of thevehicle.

In some embodiments, the system may have a human controller who, whenalerted based on, for example, an on-board fleet vehicle diagnosticssystem, may choose to control a certain feature to be activated ordeactivated. The system may use vehicle to infrastructure (V2I)communication or infrastructure to vehicle (I2V) protocol for publicsafety to identify scenarios in which and/or a network (e.g., wirelessnetwork) over which to send a signal to activate or deactivate thefeature of the vehicle.

For example, activating or deactivating the feature of the vehicle mayinclude one or more of activating/de-activating a speed limiter of thefleet vehicle (e.g., activating/de-activating a device that limits arotational speed of an engine of the fleet vehicle),activating/de-activating a brake of the fleet vehicle,activating/de-activating an accelerator of the fleet vehicle, turningthe wheels of the fleet vehicle, staying in a lane or changing lanes,turning on/off hazard lights of the fleet vehicle for a certainsegment(s) of the route, turning on/off wipers of the fleet vehicle,turning on/off traction control feature of the fleet vehicle, turningon/off safety cameras of the fleet vehicle, turning on/off headlights ofthe fleet vehicle, turning on/off a radio of the fleet vehicle,activating/de-activating a radio control, activating/de-activating aself-driving function of the vehicle, activating/de-activating aself-parking feature of the vehicle, and/or disabling the vehicle. Thevehicle feature may be an autonomous or semi-autonomous feature of thevehicle.

In one example, the system may determine if the vehicle has reached theend destination of the vehicle. If the vehicle has reached thedestination, the system may cause a self-parking feature of the vehicleto be enabled or activated. The self-parking feature may automaticallypark the vehicle in an available parking spot at or near thedestination.

In some aspects, if the total risk of the route is too high, the systemmay disable the vehicle. For example, if there is a snowstorm in thearea, and 18 inches of snow on the ground, the vehicle may bedeactivated until the snow is cleared. In another example, if the riskof a route is within a particular range, the system may activate a speedlimiter on the vehicle, to prevent the vehicle from going over a certainspeed. For example, if there is a snowstorm, and there is one inch ofsnow on the ground, the vehicle may be limited to not driving over acertain speed (e.g., 40 miles per hour), and/or limited fromaccelerating or decelerating above or below a certain rate.

In another example, if the risk of a route is at a particular level, anautonomous feature of the vehicle may be activated. For example, ifautonomous driving (e.g., a self-driving vehicle) is only available onroutes that have risk below a certain level, and the risk of the routeis below the level, then autonomous driving may be activated or madeavailable to be activated (e.g., the option is given to the driver).Alternatively, in a different example, autonomous driving might berequired on routes that have risk above a certain level. Thus, if therisk is above the level, then autonomous driving might be activated, andoperating the vehicle other than by the autonomous functionality mightbe de-activated. Thus, in some embodiments, a combination of vehiclefeatures might be activated and/or deactivated in response to the riskof the route.

The amount of risk in response to which action is taken may be differentdepending on the action. For example, the system may take one action ifthe risk is above a particular threshold, and/or take a different actionif the risk is below a same or different threshold. Furthermore,different thresholds may be used depending on different factors. Forexample, a type of vehicle may impact an acceptable amount of risk. Forexample, the system may take action for a car if the risk is at a firstthreshold, whereas the system may take the action for a truck if therisk is at a second threshold. Thus, the system may take differentactions for different vehicles based on different thresholds.

In another example, a type of cargo may result in a different responseto risk. For example, an action for an ice cream truck might be taken ata first threshold, whereas an action for a truck carrying blocks of woodmight be taken at a second threshold. Further still, an action for aschool bus might be taken at a third threshold, while an action for atruck carrying nuclear waste might be taken at a fourth threshold. Anaction for a heating-and-cooling related vehicle might be taken at afifth threshold. Some vehicles might be allowed to take less risk thanother vehicles (e.g., a vehicle carrying hazardous risk materials isallowed to take less risk than a vehicle carrying lumber).

The system may use one or more factors to evaluate the risk. In additionto considering factors individually, the system may consider factors incombination. For example, a truck turning at an intersection might havedifferent risk than a car turning at the intersection.

Alternatively or additionally, the system may use one or more factors toevaluate or determine what action to take in response. Some factorsmight be dispositive, whereas other factors might be considered incombination. For example, if a road segment is snowy, a speed of thevehicle may be limited (e.g., snow less than six inches, vehicle islimited to less than 40 miles per hour). If the road is snowy above aparticular threshold (e.g., equal to or greater than six inches ofsnow), vehicle is disabled and/or not allowed to be taken on thatsegment of road.

Furthermore, a chosen risk threshold for a particular action might bedependent on one or more factors relative to a fleet of vehicles. Forexample, the purpose of the fleet might be considered in determining athreshold for taking an action.

The system may repeat one or more of the steps of FIG. 3 in determininga route. For example, the system may determine, in step 306, multipleroutes from the start location to the end location. The system maydetermine, in step 308, segments of each of the routes, and in steps 310and 312, the risk of the segments and the total risk of each route. Thesystem may recommend a particular route. In step 314, the system maytake action based on a selected and/or recommended route, (e.g., ratherthan every possible route).

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative diagram of one or more factors that thesystem may use in determining a route recommendation (e.g., routerecommendation 502). The system may provide a route recommendation whenthere are multiple possible routes from the start location to the endlocation. In some embodiments, the system may use one or more factors inproviding a route recommendation. The factors illustrated in FIG. 5 aremerely illustrative, and other factors may be used instead of or inaddition to the factors illustrated in FIG. 5. Thus, the system may usedata and algorithms that would allow for the inclusion of one or morefactors in determining a route recommendation.

Some factors may be normalized to provide for a beneficial analysis. Forexample, if a risk is measured in a risk score, and efficiency ismeasured as a percentage, and number of hours that a driver is drivingis measured as a number of hours, then it may be difficult for a systemto determine, based on the different types of measuring each factor,which route would be most preferential. By contrast, if the factors arenormalized (e.g., each factor's score is converted to a standardizedunit—e.g., a dollar amount), then the factors may easily be combined fordetermining a recommended route, an amount of risk, etc. For example, arisk may be converted to or measured in a dollar amount, based on adollar amount of risk that may correspond to driving a particular route.As other examples, an amount of wear and tear on a vehicle, a fuel cost,an amount of drive time as a percentage of the legal number of hours thedriver is allowed to drive each day, and in view of the driver's dailywage, a cost of overtime, and the like, may be converted to a dollaramount. Thus, by normalizing each factor, the factors may be combinedand compared to determine a route recommendation.

The system may use risk 504 in determining route recommendation 502. Thesystem may use the cost of risk or a risk score in determining routerecommendation 502.

The system may use distance 506 in determining route recommendation 502.For example, the system may consider the total distance of the route. Ifa first route is a first distance, and a second route is a seconddistance, the system may recommend a route that is a shorter distance,or alternatively a route that is a longer distance.

The system may use amenities 508 in determining route recommendation502. For example, amenities may include gas stations, foodestablishments (e.g., restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores,and the like), auto-repair shops, air-filling stations, truck stops, carwashes, rest areas, or the like. The system may consider particularservice offerings of particular amenities. For example, if the vehicleuses diesel fuel, the system may consider whether a particular fillingstation offers diesel fuel when taking filling stations into account forroute recommendation 502.

The system may consider amenities in combination with one or more otherfactors. For example, if a driver drive time (e.g., driver drive time424) is high (e.g., above a threshold), the risk may increase if thereare not amenities (e.g., food, shower, hotel, rest area, etc.) along acertain route.

The system may use weather 510 in determining route recommendation 502.For example, the weather could include a weather forecast, currentweather, historical weather conditions, or the like. In making the routerecommendation, the system could take into account travel time betweenthe current location and a particular segment of road, and consider theweather that is forecasted to be at that particular segment of road atan approximate time the vehicle will be there. For example, if a totaltrip is 1000 miles long, the current weather for a segment of the tripthat is 900 miles away is likely less relevant than weather in a numberof hours or days, when the vehicle is predicted to be at that segment ofthe trip, based on the amount of time it takes to travel 900 miles. Thesystem may recommend one route over another based on the weatherconditions. For example, if one road is currently or predicted to besnowy, and another road is currently or predicted to be warm and sunny,the system might recommend the warm, sunny road. In some weatherconditions, the system might not make any route recommendations, ormight make a recommendation to not take a trip. For example, if everyroute is covered in 40 inches of snow, the system might not recommendthat any trip be taken. In some embodiments, as discussed elsewhereherein, the system might take an action in response to weather. Forexample, the system may cause a vehicle to be disabled (e.g., if thereis a lot of snow on the road).

The system may use cargo type 512 in determining route recommendation502. For example, a truck carrying lumber might be recommended adifferent route than a parent taking children to a sporting event.

The system may use vehicle type 514 in determining route recommendation502. For example, a car might receive a different recommended route thana truck. A vehicle type might be combined with other factors (e.g.,amenities) to recommend a route. For example, a vehicle that gets 15miles per gallon might be recommended a route with more amenities than avehicle that gets 50 miles per gallon.

The system may use efficiency 516 in determining route recommendation502. For example, efficiency may include fuel optimization (e.g., how tomaximize fuel). The system may take into account a number of stops ordestinations along the way. For example, for a fleet vehicle, whichmight need to make multiple stops along a route, the system maydetermine a most efficient order in which to make the stops. The systemmay consider a number of stoplights, number of turns, number ofintersections, or other factors that may impact efficiency.

The system may use traffic 518 in determining route recommendation 502.The system may consider current traffic, predicted traffic, historicaltraffic patterns, or other traffic information for a particular segmentor route.

The system may use autonomous capability 520 in determining routerecommendation 502. Autonomous technology may include, for example,self-driving vehicles, automatic speed control, automatic lane control,automatic braking or stopping, automatic turning, automatic navigation,assistive driving technology, or other autonomous vehicle technology.Some autonomous vehicle technology may require a road to have certaintechnology (e.g., sensors, signal generators, etc.) installed along theroadside or under or above the pavement in order to function.Alternatively or additionally, some autonomous vehicle technology mayreceive satellite, cellular, wireless, or other signals, which may beobstructed or otherwise unavailable at certain sections of certainroads. Thus, if a certain autonomous vehicle technology is desired to beused, the system may consider which roads or route segments couldsupport autonomous vehicle technology, and make a route recommendationaccordingly.

The system may use time of day 522 in determining route recommendation502. The system may use time of day alone or in combination with otherfactors (e.g., traffic, weather, etc.) to make a route recommendation.For example, if a first route is fastest during low traffic, but asecond route is fastest during high traffic, and the time of day is atime that corresponds with low traffic, then the recommended route maybe the first route. But if the time of day is a time that correspondswith high traffic, then the recommended route may be the second route.

The system may use travel time 524 in determining route recommendation502. For example, if a first route requires a first travel time, and asecond route requires a second travel time, the system may determine aroute recommendation based on comparing the first travel time and thesecond travel time, and selecting a shorter travel time of the firsttravel time and the second travel time.

The system may use driver identity 526 in determining routerecommendation 502. Some routes might be better for some drivers thanothers, and therefore the system may recommend a route based on thedriver identity. For example, if a driver has a history of accidents onroutes with frequent stops, the system might prefer to recommend a routewithout frequent stops. In another example, if a driver has a history ofspeeding tickets, the system might recommend a route on which a driveris less likely to get a speeding ticket. In a further example, if adriver has a particular license, qualification, or other access to aparticular route or location, the system might recommend a route basedon that license, qualification, or access. For example, if the driverhas a military identification card, the system might recommend a routethat a military identification card is required to drive on (e.g.,through a military base). In some embodiments, the system may provide adriver recommendation with or instead of a route recommendation (e.g.,recommend a first driver for a first route, and a second driver for asecond route).

The system may use other fleet vehicle routes 528 in determining routerecommendation 502. For example, the system may consider routes taken byother vehicles in a fleet in making a route recommendation. Some fleetsof vehicles may experience certain benefits by having the differentvehicles in the fleet follow similar routes. For example, if a fleetvehicle breaks down, another fleet vehicle could stop to help thedisabled vehicle. The fleet may contract with service providers (e.g.,tow trucks, repair shops, restaurants, fuel stations, and the like)along a particular route, thus receiving discounted rates or preferredservices. The fleet as a whole may receive discounted insurance rates ormaintenance rates for agreeing to prefer to recommend fleet vehiclestake certain routes.

The system may use insurance cost 530 in determining routerecommendation 502. Because insurance is paying for assumption of risk,the insurance may be based on the amount of risk. If a vehicle regularlytakes trips that are more risky or less risky than the insurance premiumis priced for, the insurance may be adjusted to more accurately accountfor the amount of risk of the trips that the vehicle regularly takes.Alternatively or additionally, some vehicles may have insurance based onthe trips taken by that vehicle. That is, an insurance plan may beoffered that charges a marginal amount for each trip taken and/or permile driven by the vehicle (e.g., rather than paying a flat rate everysix months or every year, a driver might pay a monthly bill, based onthe trips taken the previous month). Thus, the system may determine anestimated cost of insurance (e.g., $0.011, $0.12, $1.17, etc.) for anyparticular trip, and/or use that estimated insurance cost in making theroute recommendation.

As noted earlier, one or more factors may be used in determining arecommended route (e.g., route recommendation 502). One of skill in theart will recognize additional factors that may be used, and relevantconsiderations that may be applicable in using those factors fordetermining a recommended route.

For example, vehicle health may be used in determining a recommendedroute. For example, a vehicle health score may be determined by anon-board diagnostics system, or the vehicle health score may bedetermined based on information received from the on-board diagnosticssystem. The vehicle health score may include one or more differentelements, which may be associated with different parts of the vehicle.For example, a fuel health score may be related to an amount of fuel inthe vehicle fuel tanks, a type of fuel in the vehicle fuel tanks, or thelike. An oil health score may be related to an amount of time and/ornumber of miles since the oil in the vehicle engine was changed, a typeof oil in the engine of the vehicle, or the like. A tire health scoremay be related to an amount of time and/or number of miles since thetires of the vehicle were changed, an air pressure in the tires of thevehicle, a type of the tires of the vehicle, or the like. A recommendedroute may be different based on the vehicle health score. For example,if the air pressure in one of the tires is low, a route that includes anair-filling station may be recommended over a route that does notinclude an air-filling station. In another example, if the overallvehicle health score is high, a more remote route might be allowed to berecommended, while if the overall vehicle health score is low, a moreremote route might not be allowed to be recommended.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative flow diagram for evaluating risk. Asdepicted in FIG. 6, a system may include one or more of vehicle 602,mobile device 604, and server 606. FIG. 6 depicts mobile device 604 andserver 606 communicating, but in some embodiments, mobile device 604and/or server 606 may be part of vehicle 602. Thus, any of the stepsdescribed in connection with FIG. 6 may be performed wholly or in partby one or more of vehicle 602, mobile device 604, and server 606.Furthermore, one or more steps may be omitted, replaced, reordered, orsupplemented with other steps.

In step 608, mobile device 604 may send a start location to server 606.For example, the mobile device may be located in or near vehicle 602,and may transmit a location of mobile device 604 and/or vehicle 602.

In step 610, mobile device 604 may send an end location. For example,mobile device 604 may send a destination location that is desired fordriving vehicle 602 to. In another embodiment, the server 606 may itselfgenerate the end location, or receive the end location from anotherdevice (e.g., a fleet management system).

In step 612, server 606 may determine one or more routes from the startlocation to the end location. For each route, server 606 may, in step614, determine route segments. The server may also, for each route, instep 616, determine the risk of each segment, and the total risk of eachroute. Server 606 may use one or more factors, such as one or more ofthe factors described in connection with FIG. 4, for determining risk.

In step 618, server 606 may determine a recommended route from among thepotential routes. The recommended route may be determined using a routeoptimization equation. The route optimization equation may include oneor more factors, such as the factors discussed in connection with FIG.5. In some embodiments, there might only be one route. Server 606 mightrecommend that route, or, in some embodiments, might not recommend anyroute (e.g., recommend not driving from the start location to the endlocation).

In step 620, server 606 may send the recommended route to mobile device604 and/or vehicle 602. Vehicle 602, which may have mobile device 604inside (e.g., the driver or a passenger of vehicle 602 is carryingmobile device 604), may be driven according to the recommended route, oraccording to a different route.

In step 622, mobile device 604 may provide an updated location (e.g., acurrent location) of mobile device 604 and/or vehicle 602. For example,as vehicle 602 is driving, mobile device 604 may provide regular orirregular updates to server 606 regarding the current location of mobiledevice 604 and/or vehicle 602. In some embodiments, vehicle 602 may havean independent location tracking system installed (e.g., a GPS trackingdevice, an anti-theft tracking device, or the like), which may provideserver 606 with updated locations of vehicle 602.

In step 624, server 606 may determine compliance of vehicle 602 with therecommended route (e.g., the route recommended in step 618). Server 606may determine compliance based on the location of mobile device 604and/or vehicle 602, which may have been received in step 622.

In step 626, server 606 may cause an action to be taken based oncompliance or noncompliance with the recommended route. For example, ifvehicle 602 is not on the recommended route, server 606 may send asignal to vehicle 602 to activate an autonomous (e.g., self-driving)function of vehicle 602, which may drive until vehicle 602 rejoins therecommended route or reaches the end location. In another example,server 606 may send a signal to limit a speed of vehicle 602 until thevehicle returns to the recommended route. Alternatively or additionally,server 606 may disable the vehicle completely (e.g., stop the vehicle).Alternatively or additionally, server 606 may send a signal to vehicle602 and/or mobile device with a message to alert a driver or passengerin vehicle 602 and/or a user of mobile device 604 that vehicle 602 isnot on the recommended route. For example, a message to a driver maynotify a driver that the driver may be docked in pay, be reported, orotherwise receive a consequence for not following a recommended route.Alternatively or additionally, an insurance premium associated withvehicle 602 may be adjusted up or down based vehicle 602 following ornot following the recommended route.

In some embodiments, one or more actions may be taken based oncompliance or non-compliance with the recommended route. The actionsdescribed here are not comprehensive, but merely illustrative of actionsthat may be taken in response to a vehicle following a recommended route(e.g., a route recommended at least in part based on risk).

FIGS. 7A-7H depict illustrative graphical user interface screens forvarious screens that may be part of an illustrative application forassisting a user in determining risk and taking action related to therisk. The application may be operated as part of a system, which may bein communication with one or more remote computers for determining riskand/or recommended routes. For example, the application may operate on amobile device, a laptop, a computer, a vehicle, a server, or the like.

FIG. 7A depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 702) for receivinga start location and an end location from a user. The application mayreceive a start location in entry field 704, and may receive an endlocation in entry field 708. The application may receive start locationand/or end location via interaction (e.g., press and hold) with a map(e.g., map 712). The application may allow for a location (e.g., a startlocation) to be set to a current location of the device executing theapplication (e.g., by pressing icon 706). The application may allow forswapping an end location and a start location (e.g., by pressing icon708), which may result in the location in entry field 704 (if any) beingplaced in entry field 708, and the location in entry field 708 (if any)being placed in entry field 704.

FIG. 7B depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 714) that may bedisplayed after a start location and end location is received. Forexample, an entered start location may be displayed in entry field 704after the start location is entered. Entered end location may bedisplayed in entry field 708 after the end location is entered. Afterstart and end locations are entered, a search box (e.g., search box 720)may be displayed and/or activated.

Map locations may be displayed, which may correspond to enteredlocations. For example, location indicator 716 may correspond to alocation of the start location on map 712. Location indicator 718 maycorrespond to a location of the end location on map 712.

FIG. 7C depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 722) that may bedisplayed after a search is performed for one or more routes. One ormore routes between a start location and an end location (e.g., a routebetween location indicator 716 and location indicator 718) may bedisplayed on map 712. In the depicted example, a first route 728 may bedepicted. Information associated with the first route may be displayedbelow or near the map. For example, route information 755 may describewhether the route is a recommended route, a risk of the route (e.g., arisk as measured in dollars, a risk as measured in risk score, etc.).The application may include a button (e.g., button 726) that, whenpressed, may cause a route profile screen to be displayed.

FIG. 7D depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 730) that may bedisplayed after a search is performed for one or more routes, and showsa different route than the route depicted in FIG. 7C. In the depictedexample, a route (e.g., route 732) between a first location and a secondlocation may be displayed on a map (e.g., map 712). Route information724 about route 732 may be displayed near map 712.

FIG. 7E depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 734) that may bedisplayed in response to a search for routes between a first locationand a second location. Screen 734 may include a list (e.g., list 736) ofpotential routes. List 736 may include information about each route,including risk associated with each route. The application may providefor displaying additional information about each route in list 736,which may be activated by pressing a button (e.g., button 738) to add acolumn to the list, the column having additional information related toeach route.

The application may also include one or more buttons (e.g., buttons740), which may, when pressed, cause display of a screen with detailsabout a route (e.g., similar to screen 722, screen 730).

The application may allow a user to enter one or more preferences, whichmay be accessed through one or more parts of the application (e.g., bypressing a button, such as button 741). A user preference input mayallow a user to create or maintain one or more driver profiles. Thepreferences may allow for an association to be created between one ormore vehicles and one or more drivers. The preferences may allow forinputting information regarding a vehicle and/or driver associated witha fleet.

The user preferences may be used by the application to determine risk,to make route recommendations, or the like. For example, in making routerecommendations, the application may take the user's preferences intoaccount. In some embodiments, there may be limits to which the user'spreferences are taken into account. For example, if a user always valuestime over safety (e.g., two routes could be safe, but one route might be95% safe and another might be 98% safe. The 95% safe route might take 10minutes, and the 98% safe route might take 30 minutes), the system mighttake the user's preferences into account and choose a route that takesless time, even if the route is slightly less safe. But as notedearlier, the application might only take the user's preferences intoaccount up to a threshold. For example, if a route is 50% safe, andtakes 10 minutes, versus a route that is 95% safe, and takes 15 minutes,the application might still choose the 95% safe route, even if a usertypically prefers time over safety, because the safety might be too low(e.g., below a safety threshold, such as 80%).

FIG. 7F depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 742) that may bedisplayed in response to a button (e.g., button 726) being pressed. Theapplication may include a route profile screen, which may includeinformation about a route (e.g., route information 744). Routeinformation may include one or more details about a route. For example,route information may include a risk score or risk amount, a routedistance, a listing of amenities available along the route, a weatherforecast for the route, an efficiency rating, a traffic prediction,whether autonomous functionality of a vehicle is available on the route,an estimated travel time of the route, information regarding fleet usageof the route, and an insurance cost for driving the route. More or lessinformation may be displayed as part of the route information. Theapplication may include a button (e.g., button 746) that, when pressed,may cause display of a screen with a risk profile of the route.

FIG. 7G depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 748) that may bedisplayed in response to a button being pressed. FIG. 7G depicts anillustrative route profile screen for a different route, and includesdifferent illustrative route information 750 that may be displayed, thedifferent route information 750 being related to a different route(e.g., route 732).

FIG. 7H depicts an illustrative screen (e.g., screen 752) that may bedisplayed in response to a button (e.g., button 746) being pressed. Theapplication may include a risk profile screen, which may includeinformation (e.g., risk information 754) about risk factors that may beused or have been used to calculate risk for a particular route. Forexample, risk information 754 may include a total amount of risk for aroute, a number of intersections, a number of turns, a typical number ofaccidents, a weather forecast, a cargo type, a vehicle type, a trafficprediction, whether autonomous functionality of a vehicle is availableon the route, an estimated time of day for driving on the route, anestimated travel time, and a driver.

The application may include one or more buttons or other input methodsfor adding, removing, or updating information being used for making arisk prediction. In some embodiments, this updated information is sentto a server. In some embodiments, updated information for calculatingrisk may be stored locally on the machine or device executing theapplication. Thus, if a network connection is not available, the devicemay still be able to calculate a risk score.

For example, in some embodiments, button 756 may allow for a user tochange a cargo type of cargo being carried in a vehicle on a trip. Insome embodiments, the cargo type may be specifically selectable (e.g.,plastic, toys, hardwood, etc.). In other embodiments, a risk level maybe selected (e.g., low, medium, high), which may allow a user to providean estimated risk level for a particular vehicle. One or more elementsof a route risk profile and/or a route recommendation may berecalculated based on the cargo type being changed.

In some embodiments, the application may include a button (e.g., button758) to allow a user to change a vehicle type of a vehicle being takenon a trip. For example, a vehicle type may be a car, a truck, a pickuptruck, a semi-truck, a cargo van, an armored car, a box van, a boxtruck, a sports car, a dune buggy, a go-kart, an antique or classic car,a delivery truck, an ice-cream truck, a mail truck, heavy equipment(e.g., a bulldozer, backhoe, road grater, or the like), or another typeof vehicle. The application may allow for entry of a specific make andmodel, and the application may automatically classify the vehicle into aparticular vehicle category. The application may provide for selectionof one of many specific vehicle categories, or the application mayprovide for selection of one of a few broad vehicle categories. One ormore elements of a route risk profile and/or a route recommendation maybe recalculated based on the vehicle type being changed.

In some embodiments, the application may include a button (e.g., button760) to allow a user to change a time of day for a trip. For example,the application may allow a user to indicate if the user is currently ona trip, is leaving now, or is leaving within a threshold period of time(e.g., within the next five minutes, within the next 30 minutes, withinthe hour, sometime today, sometime this week, sometime this month,sometime this year, or the like). Alternatively, the time of day entrymay be a specific time (e.g., 6:04) or more general (e.g., select anhour (e.g., 6:00, 7:00, 8:00), select a half hour (e.g., 6:00, 6:30,7:00), or the like). The application may provide different riskinformation and/or route recommendation based on a different time ofday. In some embodiments, the system may provide a recommended time ofday with or instead of a recommended route (e.g., if a user wants totake a trip sometime today, the application may recommend a first routeat a first time of day, a second route at a second time of day, etc.).

In some embodiments, the application may include a button (e.g., button762) to allow a user to change a driver for a trip. For example, theuser may select from one of a number of users associated with aparticular vehicle, insurance plan, fleet, company, household, or thelike. In some embodiments, the user may provide information to add a newdriver to the system. The application may update a route risk profileand/or a recommended route based on a driver for a trip. In someembodiments, the application may recommend a particular driver for aparticular segment of a trip, and/or a particular driver for aparticular route. For example, the application may recommend a firstdriver for a first route, and/or a second driver for a second route.

In some embodiments, the application may allow for a user to view (e.g.,FIGS. 7F-7H) and/or select one or more characteristics of a route. Theuser may select characteristics that the user values on a particulartrip, or the user may select characteristics to add to the user profilefor valuing more highly in all trips taken by that user. The applicationmay allow the user to select one or more characteristics to add orexclude from a particular route evaluation, and request a new routeevaluation based on the added or excluded characteristics. Similarly,the application may allow a user to weight certain characteristics moreor less heavily, and request a new route recommendation based on there-weighted characteristics.

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative block diagram of an environment for fleetmanagement of vehicles. The environment may include one or more fleetvehicle management systems (e.g., fleet vehicle management system 802).The environment may include one or more vehicles (e.g., vehicle 804 a,vehicle 804 b, vehicle 804 c, vehicle 804 d, vehicle 804 e, vehicle 804n, etc.). The one or more fleet vehicle management systems may beconnected to the one or more vehicles via one or more networks (e.g.,network 806).

Fleet vehicle management system 802 may include one or more devices formanaging fleet vehicles. For example, fleet vehicle management system802 may include one or more computers, servers, and the like, which mayperform tasks related to managing one or more fleet vehicles (e.g.,determining preferred routes for vehicles, assigning tasks for vehiclesto perform, tracking maintenance for vehicles, and the like).

Fleet vehicle management system 802 may perform one or more of theaspects described herein. For example, fleet vehicle management systemmay consider the risk of different routes and use that risk in a routeoptimization equation. Some route optimization equations may use adollar amount as a measure of cost for a selected route. The riskvariable may be calculated as a dollar amount and can be used in theroute optimization equation. Individual factors of each driver may beincluded in the risk analysis and the route optimization equation. Theindividual factors can be dynamic, such that the individual routeoptimization can change for a particular individual, depending on thecurrent state of the dynamic individual risk factors.

Fleet vehicle management system 802 may predict the risk of a routeright now, in 30 minutes, or an hour, or another amount of time, andthis information can be used in determining when and where a fleetshould travel.

Fleet vehicle management system 802 may interface with an application(e.g., an application running on a mobile device of a user—e.g., adriver of a fleet vehicle). The application may include one or morefeatures similar to the application described in connection with FIGS.7A-7H. The application may show the driver the risk characteristics ofdifferent routes (by color or words or the like). The driver can thenuse the risk characteristics to assist in choosing the route.

The risk of a route may have an impact on the fleet management. Forexample, a risk-adjusted UPI may be used for providing insurance tofleet vehicles. The fleet may have an insurance rate applied to a groupof vehicles (e.g., grouped by owner, driver profile, geographic area,etc.). Some insurance rates may be applied differently, depending ondifferent factors (e.g., driving more miles might result in differentmonthly costs based on certain factors, rather than miles based).

In addition to determining a risk value for routes, fleet vehiclemanagement system 802 may provide a “yes” or “no” for particular routes.Depending on the risk analysis, fleet drivers may not be allowed todrive particular routes. If the driver drives a prohibited route,actions can be taken against the driver. In another example, a driver isprovided limited functions for different routes. For example, for routeA there is no speed limitation, for route B the car limits the driver'sspeed to 40 mph. These limitations on drivers also can be applied toautonomous cars.

Fleet management system 802 may identify a driver based on a driverprofile. Some drivers may have more risk than others. In someembodiments, fleet management system 802 may identify drivers with ahigher risk score, and only perform route management and/or vehiclefeature activation/deactivation for those drivers. For example, if adriver's risk score is above a certain threshold, fleet managementsystem 802 may determine a recommended route, activate/deactivate afeature of the vehicle, and/or take action if the vehicle is notfollowing a recommended route.

Fleet management system 802 may track an amount of time a driver hasbeen driving. Some laws may say that after a certain amount of time(and/or one or more other factors), the driver is no longer allowed todrive. As a driver's percentage or amount of time driving in recent time(e.g., a rolling 24 hour period) increases, the risk evaluation ofdifferent routes may change. As the risk changes, some routes may nolonger be available. For example, as a driver drives for more time in acertain time period, the driver may no longer be allowed to take certainroutes. For example, fleet management system 802 may recommend routeswith rest areas, so as to avoid a driver taking a longer route or aroute without a rest area. Fleet management system 802 may determinethat a driver is allowed to continue on a particular route under certainconditions (e.g., the driver may drive at 45 miles per hour instead of70 miles per hour).

Fleet management system 802 may provide one or more benefits to fleetowners. For example, costs may be reduced, including costs related toaccidents, delays, driver downtime, unavailability of equipment (e.g.,truck is broken), and/or avoidance of issues with a next trip for afleet vehicle. Notably, different organizations may value delay, damage,or other issues with fleet vehicles differently. By considering risk,damage, delay, driver downtime, driver overtime, and otherconsiderations using a normalized factor for comparison (e.g.,representing each factor in dollar amount), the fleet management systemmay weigh each factor according to its value to the organization thatowns, manages, or uses the fleet, to meet the distinct needs of thatorganization.

Some fleet costs and/or savings may be significant, especially whenconsidered in contrast with individually owned or managed vehicles. Forexample, if the costs of risk for two different routes for a trip madeby a vehicle are $0.64 versus $0.94, the individual vehicleowner/manager might not care about the cost of risk as much as adifferent factor (e.g., time, safety, etc.). But minimizing the cost ofrisk for a trip for a vehicle, when multiplied by dozens or hundreds orthousands of vehicles driving hundreds or thousands or millions of milesa year, may have a significant impact on an organization with a fleet ofvehicles. For example, by recommending and/or enforcing routes and/orspeeds to maximize fuel efficiency (e.g., recommending a route with aspeed limit of 55 miles per hour instead of 80 miles per hour), thefleet may achieve significant cost savings by increasing the averagefuel economy of fleet vehicles, based on those vehicles driving at amore fuel-efficient speed. In another example, by optimizing certainfactors, risk, routes, etc., fleet management system 802 may improvecost savings by reducing driver drive time, asset (e.g., vehicle) wearand tear, and the like.

One or more of the fleet vehicles may include one or more computingdevices that may send information to and/or receive information from thefleet vehicle management system.

As noted earlier, the environment also may include one or more networks(e.g., network 806), which may interconnect one or more of fleetmanagement system 802 and vehicles 804 a-n, as depicted in FIG. 8.Network 806 may include one or more sub-networks (e.g., local areanetworks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), or the like). Network 806may be associated with a particular organization (e.g., a corporation,educational institution, governmental institution, or the like) and mayinterconnect one or more computing devices associated with theorganization. Network 806 may be a home network, a corporate network, anad-hoc network, a ring network, or another type of network. Network 806may be the Internet.

For example, a mobile device of a user (e.g., mobile device 104) may beconfigured to execute one or more computer-executable applications. Theone or more computer-executable applications may be installed on amobile device of the user. The one or more computer-executableapplications may be downloaded to the mobile device from an public orprivate application store or catalog, may be directly installed onto themobile device, and/or may be installed using a mobile device managementsystem. The one or more computer-executable applications may work withall of the features described herein, or may work with a subset of thefeatures.

One or more aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-usabledata or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more programmodules, executed by one or more computers or other devices to performthe operations described herein. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the likethat perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes when executed by one or more processors in a computer or otherdata processing device. The computer-executable instructions may bestored as computer-readable instructions on a computer-readable mediumsuch as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid-statememory, RAM, and the like. The functionality of the program modules maybe combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. Inaddition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part infirmware or hardware equivalents, such as integrated circuits,application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGA), and the like. Particular data structures may be usedto more effectively implement one or more aspects of the disclosure, andsuch data structures are contemplated to be within the scope of computerexecutable instructions and computer-usable data described herein.

Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, anapparatus, or as one or more computer-readable media storingcomputer-executable instructions. Accordingly, those aspects may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment, an entirely firmware embodiment, or an embodiment combiningsoftware, hardware, and firmware aspects in any combination. Inaddition, various signals representing data or events as describedherein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the formof light or electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conductingmedia such as metal wires, optical fibers, or wireless transmissionmedia (e.g., air or space). In general, the one or morecomputer-readable media may include one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media.

As described herein, the various methods and acts may be operativeacross one or more computing servers and one or more networks. Thefunctionality may be distributed in any manner, or may be located in asingle computing device (e.g., a server, a client computer, and thelike). For example, in alternative embodiments, one or more of thecomputing platforms discussed above may be combined into a singlecomputing platform, and the various functions of each computing platformmay be performed by the single computing platform. In such arrangements,any and/or all of the above-discussed communications between computingplatforms may correspond to data being accessed, moved, modified,updated, and/or otherwise used by the single computing platform.Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the computing platformsdiscussed above may be implemented in one or more virtual machines thatare provided by one or more physical computing devices. In sucharrangements, the various functions of each computing platform may beperformed by the one or more virtual machines, and any and/or all of theabove-discussed communications between computing platforms maycorrespond to data being accessed, moved, modified, updated, and/orotherwise used by the one or more virtual machines.

Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, andvariations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occurto persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure. For example, one or more of the steps depicted in theillustrative figures may be performed in other than the recited order,and one or more depicted steps may be optional in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of activating and deactivating one ormore features of a fleet vehicle of a fleet comprising a plurality offleet vehicles, the method comprising: determining, by a computingdevice comprising a processor and memory, a driving route of the fleetvehicle of the fleet comprising the plurality of fleet vehicles, thedriving route being from a starting location to a destination location;receiving, by the computing device, from a global positioning system inthe fleet vehicle, route information of the fleet vehicle indicatingthat the fleet vehicle is no longer at the starting location and isadhering to the driving route; determining, by the computing device,that a feature of the fleet vehicle is deactivated; and after receivingthe route information of the fleet vehicle and determining that thefeature of the fleet vehicle is deactivated, causing, by the computingdevice, activation of the feature of the fleet vehicle based ondetermining that the fleet vehicle is adhering to the driving route. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the fleet vehicle includes autonomous orsemi-autonomous functionality, and wherein causing the activation of thefeature of the fleet vehicle comprises at least one of: activating aspeed limiter of the fleet vehicle, activating a brake of the fleetvehicle, activating an accelerator of the fleet vehicle, activating aself-driving function of the fleet vehicle, turning on a radio of thefleet vehicle, turning off the radio of the fleet vehicle, turning onhazard lights of the fleet vehicle, activating a traction control systemof the fleet vehicle, turning the fleet vehicle, or disabling the fleetvehicle.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein causing the activation of thefeature of the fleet vehicle comprises at least activating the speedlimiter of the fleet vehicle, and wherein activating the speed limiterof the fleet vehicle comprises activating a device that limits arotational speed of an engine of the fleet vehicle.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein a road on the driving route comprises at least onesensor or transmitter configured to communicate with an onboard computerof the fleet vehicle, the at least one sensor or transmitter supportingthe autonomous or semi-autonomous functionality of the fleet vehicle. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein causing the activation of the feature ofthe fleet vehicle comprises: transmitting, by the computing device, viaa cellular network, to a different computing device that is part of thefleet vehicle, an instruction to activate the feature of the fleetvehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprising: determining a risk scorefor each segment of a plurality of segments along the driving route, therisk score for each segment corresponding to a dollar amount of riskassociated with the segment; and determining a total risk of the drivingroute from the starting location to the destination location, the totalrisk being a sum of the risk score for each segment of the plurality ofsegments, and the total risk of the driving route corresponding to atotal dollar amount of risk associated with the driving route, whereinactivating the feature of the fleet vehicle comprises activating thefeature of the fleet vehicle based on the total risk of the drivingroute being below a threshold value.
 7. The method of claim 6,comprising: determining a different driving route from the startinglocation to the destination location, the different driving routecomprising a different plurality of segments, at least one segment ofthe different plurality of segments being different from at least onesegment of the plurality of segments along the driving route.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, comprising: determining a risk score for each segmentof the different driving route; and determining a total risk of thedifferent driving route, the total risk of the different driving routebeing a sum of the risk score for each segment of the different drivingroute, and the total risk of the different driving route correspondingto a total dollar amount of risk associated with the different drivingroute.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising: determining, based on thetotal dollar amount of risk associated with the driving route and thetotal dollar amount of risk associated with the different driving route,whether the driving route or the different driving route has a loweramount of risk; and based on whether the driving route or the differentdriving route has the lower amount of risk, providing a recommendedroute for the fleet vehicle from the starting location to thedestination location, the recommended route having the lower amount ofrisk.
 10. The method of claim 6, comprising: determining a current riskscore for the driving route based on the fleet vehicle departing thestarting location at a current time; determining a future risk score forthe driving route based on the fleet vehicle departing the startinglocation at a future time after the current time; and providing thecurrent risk score and the future risk score for display.
 11. The methodof claim 6, comprising: determining a first risk score for a firstpotential driver of the fleet vehicle for the driving route; determininga second risk score for a second potential driver of the fleet vehiclefor the driving route; and recommending a driver for the fleet vehiclefor the driving route, based on the first risk score for the firstpotential driver and the second risk score for the second potentialdriver.
 12. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the risk scorefor each segment is based on at least one of a type of the fleetvehicle, a type of cargo in the fleet vehicle, traffic conditions of thesegment, a time of day that the fleet vehicle will be in the segment, orweather conditions of the segment.
 13. The method of claim 6,comprising: determining a number of turns along the driving route,wherein determining the total risk of the driving route is based on thenumber of turns along the driving route.
 14. The method of claim 6,comprising: determining a different total risk of each of a plurality ofdifferent potential driving routes for a plurality of fleet vehiclescomprising the fleet vehicle; and based on at least one factorassociated with the plurality of fleet vehicles, providing a respectiverecommended route for each of the plurality of fleet vehicles.
 15. Themethod of claim 6, comprising: generating for display a risk profile ofthe driving route, the risk profile comprising details of one or morefactors contributing to the total risk of the driving route.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, comprising: determining a plurality of differentpotential driving routes; determining a corresponding total risk foreach of the plurality of different potential driving routes; eliminatingat least one of the plurality of different potential driving routesbased on the corresponding total risk of the at least one of theplurality of different potential driving routes being above thethreshold value; and receiving a selection of one of the plurality ofdifferent potential driving routes.
 17. The method of claim 6,comprising: generating for display information regarding the drivingroute, the information regarding the driving route comprising one ormore of the total dollar amount of risk associated with the drivingroute, traffic conditions along the driving route, total travel time ofthe driving route, estimated fuel usage for the driving route, or roadconditions of the driving route.
 18. The method of claim 6, whereindetermining the risk score for each segment is based on a plurality offactors, and comprises: determining a first weight for a first factor ofthe plurality of factors; determining a second weight for a secondfactor of the plurality of factors; and determining a weighted scorebased on the first weight for the first factor and the second weight forthe second factor, wherein the weighted score is the risk score for thesegment.
 19. Non-transitory computer-readable media storing executableinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause asystem to: determine a starting location of a fleet vehicle of a fleetcomprising a plurality of fleet vehicles, the fleet vehicle capable ofat least one autonomous or semi-autonomous function; receive adestination location for the fleet vehicle; determine a driving routefrom the starting location to the destination location; receive, from aglobal positioning unit in the fleet vehicle, information indicatingthat the fleet vehicle is no longer at the starting location and is notalong the driving route; and after receiving the information indicatingthat the fleet vehicle is no longer at the starting location and is notalong the driving route, activate the at least one autonomous orsemi-autonomous function of the fleet vehicle based on the fleet vehiclenot being along the driving route.
 20. A system comprising: at least oneprocessor; non-transitory memory storing executable instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:determine a driving route of a fleet vehicle from a starting location toa destination location; receive location information of the fleetvehicle from a computing device in the fleet vehicle; determine that thefleet vehicle is no longer at the starting location and is adhering tothe driving route; and after receiving the location information of thefleet vehicle, activate an autonomous or semi-autonomous function of thefleet vehicle, based on a location of the fleet vehicle adhering to thedriving route.